Appendix C Pink-Tailed Worm Lizard (Aprasia Parapulchella) Impact Assessment Report
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Appendix C Pink-tailed Worm Lizard (Aprasia parapulchella) impact assessment report CONFIDENTIAL GOOGONG TOWNSHIP WATER CYCLE PROJECT SUBMISSIONS REPORT VERSION 6.0 203 BIOSIS RESEARCH Googong Township Pink-tailed Worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella) Impact Assessment Report A report prepared for CIC Australia Limited January 2011 Natural & Cultural Heritage Consultants 16/2 Yallourn Street, Fyshwick 2609 BIOSIS RESEARCH Wollongong: 8 Tate Street Wollongong 2500 Ph: (02) 4229 5222 Fax: (02) 4229 5500 email: [email protected] Sydney: 18-20 Mandible Street, Alexandria, NSW 2015 Ph: (02) 9690 2777 Fax: (02) 9690 2577 email: [email protected] Melbourne: 38 Bertie Street Port Melbourne 3207 Ph: (03) 9646 9499 Fax: (03) 9646 9242 email: [email protected] Canberra: Unit 16 / 2 Yallourn Street, Fyshwick ACT 2609 Ph: (02) 6228 1599 Fax: (02) 6280 8752 email: [email protected] Ballarat: 449 Doveton Street North Ballarat 3350 Ph: (03) 5331 7000 Fax: (03) 5331 7033 email: [email protected] Wangaratta: 26a Reid Street, Wangaratta Ph: (03) 5721 9453 Fax: (03) 5721 9454 Email: [email protected] Project no: 12364 Author: Robert Speirs Mapping: Graeme McIntyre (Manidis Roberts) Ashleigh Pritchard (Biosis Research) This document may be cited as: Biosis Research (2011). Googong Township – Pink-tailed Worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella) Impact Assessment Report. Unpublished report to CIC Australia Limited. @ Biosis Research Pty. Ltd. This document is and shall remain the property of Biosis Research Pty. Ltd. The document may only be used for the purposes for which it was commissioned and in accordance with the Terms of the Engagement for the commission. Unauthorised use of this document in any form whatsoever is prohibited. Googong Township – Pink-tailed Worm-lizard Impact Assessment Report DOCUMENT CONTROL SHEET Googong Township PROJECT Pink-tailed Worm-lizard Impact Assessment Report BIOSIS PROJECT 12364 NO REPORT FOR CIC Australia Limited Googong Township REPORT TITLE: Pink-tailed Worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella) Impact Assessment Report AUTHOR(S): Robert Speirs INTERNAL EXTERNAL REVISION PREPARED AMENDED REVIEW REVIEW Draft Robert Speirs Jennifer Charlton Dr Will Osborne 25-01-2011 Final Robert Speirs Jennifer Charlton BIOSIS RESEARCH 3 Googong Township – Pink-tailed Worm-lizard Impact Assessment Report ABBREVIATIONS AND COMMON TERMS DECCW NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (formerly NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change) DSEWPC Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (formerly Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts) EEC Endangered Ecological Community EP&A Act Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 EPBC Act Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 EPI Environmental Planning Instrument Googong Township The area encompassed by the Googong Township LEP Local Environmental Plan LGA Local Government Area NPWS NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (now part of the DECCW) Study Area The area of the Googong Township assessed as Aprasia parapulchella habitat PTWL Pink-tailed Worm-lizard PTWL Conservation Area The area of the Study Area proposed to be dedicated and managed as a conservation area for Pink-tailed Worm-lizard. TSC Act Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 sp. species (singular) spp. species (plural) ssp. subspecies var. variety BIOSIS RESEARCH 4 Googong Township – Pink-tailed Worm-lizard Impact Assessment Report CONTENTS 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................6 2.0 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................7 3.0 AIMS................................................................................................................................9 4.0 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................10 4.1 Description of Study Area and Surrounds ...........................................................10 4.1.1 Landform, topography and soils ........................................................................10 4.1.2 Management history and current vegetation condition .....................................10 4.2 Description, Habitat and Ecology of Aprasia parapulchella...............................11 4.2.1 Distribution of Aprasia parapulchella.................................................................12 4.2.2 Threats to Aprasia parapulchella.......................................................................13 4.2.3 Existing conservation of Aprasia parapulchella.................................................13 5.0 METHODOLOGY..........................................................................................................15 5.1 Approach..................................................................................................................15 5.2 Desktop Study .........................................................................................................15 5.3 Field Surveys ...........................................................................................................16 5.3.1 Delineation of extent of habitat..........................................................................16 5.3.2 Weather conditions............................................................................................16 5.3.3 Survey technique and effort ..............................................................................16 5.3.4 Vegetation and habitat quality mapping ............................................................16 5.3.5 Limitations .........................................................................................................17 6.0 RESULTS......................................................................................................................18 6.1 Targeted Surveys for Aprasia parapulchella........................................................18 6.2 Habitat Assessment and Mapping.........................................................................20 7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................25 7.1 Management of Development Encroachment ......................................................25 7.2 Offsetting for Development Encroachment..........................................................26 8.0 PROPOSED MANAGEMENT.......................................................................................28 8.1 Establishment of PTWL Conservation Area .........................................................28 8.2 Management of PTWL Conservation Area............................................................29 8.2.1 Initial works to be undertaken by CIC Australia ................................................29 8.2.2 Ongoing management works ............................................................................31 9.0 IMPACT ASSESSMENT – EPBC ACT 1999 ...............................................................32 FIGURES...................................................................................................................................40 REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................44 BIOSIS RESEARCH 5 Googong Township – Pink-tailed Worm-lizard Impact Assessment Report 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Biosis Research Pty Ltd has been engaged by CIC Australia Limited (CIC) through the project management firm Manidis Roberts Pty Ltd to prepare an assessment of the impacts of the Googong Township upon an area of known Pink-tailed Worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella) habitat occurring within the proposed Googong Township. A. parapulchella is listed as ‘vulnerable’ pursuant to the Commonwealth EPBC Act and the NSW TSC Act. The Study Area is located in the eastern section of the future Googong Township, directly adjoining Googong Foreshores along the township’s eastern boundary. Habitat assessments carried out during broader ecological surveys completed by Biosis Research (2009) throughout the Googong Township indentified the A. parapulchella potential habitat associated with the lower reaches of Montgomery Creek (i.e. the Study Area). Targeted field surveys (including turning appropriate shelter rocks) were undertaken to ground-truth information obtained during a desktop review and previous field studies and to gather additional data from the Study Area. The combined information from field and desktop studies was then used to assess the quality and value of the ground-truthed A. parapulchella habitat throughout the Study Area. Approximately 6200 suitably sized shelter rocks were over-turned and 13 live A. parapulchella individuals and three sloughs (shed skins) were recorded. Following the field surveys, the quality and value of the A. parapulchella habitat throughout the Study Area was mapped according to ranking criteria that incorporated the abundance and density of surface rocks as well as vegetation cover type. Thus, the Study Area has been segmented into areas of ‘Very High’, ‘High’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Low’ quality habitat for A. parapulchella using the ranking criteria. Results of the field surveys and habitat value mapping were used to inform the preparation of an ‘Assessment of Significance’ and to make recommendations for the design and ongoing management